November 20, 2007:
Fatah and Hamas continue to consolidate power in their respective strongholds of the West Bank and Gaza. Fatah is having the easier time of it, because Israeli troops are still in the West Bank. Hamas, on the other hand, is preparing for war. It is still recruiting men for combat units, building bunkers, camouflaging its facilities and planting remote control bombs under hard surface (asphalt) roads. This is all out of the Hizbollah playbook, and Hizbollah advisors have been operating in Gaza for several years. The economy in Gaza is a shambles, and getting ready for war is the only growth industry. Terrorist groups based in Gaza continue to try to get out, and launch attacks inside Israel. They continue to fail, with a dozen or more casualties a week. Israelis continue raiding inside Gaza to kill or capture key terrorist leaders. In the north, Lebanon remains deadlocked between nationalist and pro-Iranian (led by Hizbollah) factions.

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